Starborn
by strayphoenix
Summary: AU. The universe is at war. An insane emperor rules the Shi'ar empire and the Xmen, unknowningly, are fighting on the wrong side. The love shared by the Xmen's redheaded leader and the rebellion's redeyed commander is the universe's only hope
1. One Extra Shot

**Starborn**

Starlight, Star-bright  
Beautiful stars with gleaming light  
I wish I could spread wings for flight  
And touch all the stars in the night

Starborn, Star-torn  
Whether a child of concrete or a child of corn  
As a youngster you could have sworn  
That in your life, you'd never be forlorn

Starmart, Star-art  
The stars shall be your new start  
So when the world begins to fall apart  
Follow the stars, child, follow your heart

-Shi'ar Nursery Rhyme

* * *

One extra shot. 

That's all it took to separate two universes: the one we know, and the one we're about to discover…

* * *

"Hit them again" 

"But, sir, they are sure to go down with just that shot" a gunner argued.

"We want to be sure" the Shi'ar officer said firmly. "Hit them again"

"Very well" the gunner said, "Prepare laser four. On my mark…"

* * *

Inside a burning airplane, a family, whose story you think you know, is about to have its destiny changed…

* * *

"Alex, Scott, listen to me. You have to be brave" Katherine Summers whispered to her two sons with a cracked voice and blurry eyes. 

"We don't want to leave you!" six year old Alex wailed clinging onto his mother. Scott was in a state of shock; with the exception of the silent tears streaming his cheeks, he was hardly reacting at all.

"Listen to me" Christopher Summers said as he squatted down and stared the best he could with tear filled eyes at his oldest son. "I want you to take care of Alex. And I need you to be brave…"

Scott stared at his father bleakly. "But what about you and Mom? You'll be OK, right?"

Christopher brought his son in a hug and his body shuddered with a heart-broken sob.

"Scott" Katherine called. "Come here"

Scott stumbled quickly to where his mother and brother were. "I want you to have this" she said as she removed a piece of jewelry from around her neck. "This is St. Theresa, the patron saint of pilots. She's been taking care of your father and me for a long time but now I want her to take care of you" Katherine put the necklace around his neck as she gently nudged a wailing Alex to the open door of the plane and checked his parachute.

"But Mom..."

Scott was interrupted by a deafening explosion. But that was nothing compared to what he heard next: the scream of his mother and brother being tossed out of the plane.

"KATE! ALEX! NO!" Christopher shouted, quickly recovering from his stumble and staring down at the two falling figures.

"Mom?" Scott whispered quietly, numbly, to his father's back. "MOM! ALEX!" he screamed.

And then the next thing he saw was a bright light engulfing him.

* * *

Hundreds of miles below and thousands of miles away, in Annandale-on-Hudson, another life is being affected by this twist. 

Make that two lives…

* * *

"Catch, Annie!" an 8 year old Jean Grey laughed as she tossed the big red ball. Her best friend, Annie Malcolm, laughed as well as the ball soared over her head and into the street behind her. 

"I'll get it!" she told her cheerfully, "You really don't know your own strength!" Annie turned and jogged to get the ball.

Jean started to follow her but stopped suddenly, as her view of the street and the ball and Annie burned to white. Suddenly, a vision flashed before her eyes. She let out a cry and fell to the ground.

"Jean!" Annie exclaimed as she stopped chasing the ball and ran back to Jean. "Oh my God! What's wrong? What happened?"

Jean tried to slow her breathing. Behind them, a car zoomed down the street way over the speed limit presently squishing their ball. After a few deep breaths, Jean finally collected herself.

"I-I don't know. Everything, everything I saw just went white"

"That happened to me once, too. My daddy said it was from something called 'Low Blood Sugar'" Annie explained with pride. She was very proud of her knowledge because her father was a doctor. "He said you have to drink lots of soda and sugary candy to get more sugar in your blood"

Jean was about to explain the vision she had had of the two boys and the plane afterwards but the offer of soda and candy was too much. She grinned and got up. "Well, you're the doctor's daughter. Whatever you say!" Jean giggled and gave Annie a mock solute. Annie giggled too and they both ran to Annie's house.

Jean made a mental resolution to tell her later…after her sugar high.

* * *

Aboard a Shi'ar warship, two lives are being further broken beyond repair…

* * *

"Hello, Major Summers" 

Christopher glared tear stained eyes at the alien officer. "How do you know my name?"

"Oh, we know quite a lot about you Mr. Summers. You're a very highly qualifiedpilot, are you not?"

Christopher didn't say a word, instead, he glanced at Scott who was chained to the opposite wall of the ship's small dungeon cell.

"Do what you want with me, but let my son go" he pleaded.

The officer smiled. "I do admit" he mused, "we were expecting to intercept your wife but your son will do just fine. We have a proposition for you."

"Not interested" Christopher grumbled under his breath glaring at the officer with all his might. The man didn't seem to notice.

"Would you be interested in serving our emperor in the Shi'ar Royal Guard as a pilot?"

"What kind of sick emperor must you have to think that you can gain a man's allegiance by killing his wife and son?" Hate was coursing through his veins but the officer merely smirked.

"I'd watch your language if I were you" he said as he turned around and headed towards Scott.

Christopher's eyes widened in horror. "DON"T YOU TOUCH HIM!"

The officer ignored his captive and squatted down to Scott who was hanging his head.

"Scott, perhaps you could persuade your father" he said with fake kindness as he pulled out a gun.

Scott slowly lifted his head and his eyes bored into the officer's.

"Go to Heck"

Without anybody knowing, Scott had slipped one of his skinny ankles out of his shackles. In one swift move, his scrawny foot connected with the man's groin. It wasn't that hard but the man let out a cry and dropped the gun. As he took a step back to regain his balance, he kicked the gun with the back of his foot and it skidded across the floor only to land right in front of Christopher.

"You little bastard!" the man hissed as he headed for Scott.

"I'd watch your language if I were you" Christopher said tauntingly but without smiling as he pointed the gun at the officer. The officer spun to look at him. He let out a sigh and put his hands in the air.

"Give me the keys" he ordered the officer.

"Now, Mr. Summers, you wouldn't shoot…" but the man jumped to a side as Christopher shot at his feet.

"I won't ask you again" he growled. The man obliged and threw the keys at his feet. Keeping the gun pointed at the man, he undid his shackles then walked over and undid Scott's.

"You will pay for this, Earthling"

"Go to Heck" Scott repeated running out of the dungeon with his father.

"Thanks for not swearing" Christopher said, picking up some speed after turning a corner.

"I should've" Scott said angrily, "They deserve it"

Christopher was about to respond but stopped when he found himself staring at the glowing end of a laser gun. Several others were pointed at them. Christopher had no other choice but to drop his own hand gun and put his hands in the air. Scott followed his father's lead.

A man appeared from behind the armed men. He was wearing a long cloak and had markings under his eyes. He walked forward with a superior step and stood right in front of Christopher.

"So this is the aviator?" he said with contempt. He looked at him up and down while an official behind him nodded.

"And he has refused my offer?" he asked the officer that had originally imprisoned the pair. The alien had come up behind them and nodded his head respectfully.

Emperor D'Ken spat at Christopher's feet. "Then dispose of him on the first ship to the Slave Pits. He's too rebellious for my taste"

Three officers lowered their guns and grabbed Christopher. The officer from before grabbed Scott by the collar. "And the brat?" he asked D'Ken almost lifting Scott off of the ground. D'Ken didn't even turn around but responded, "Like father, like son"

Scott hardly had time to think what that might have meant before the officer's elbow connected with the back of his head in a devastating blow. Scott Summers fell to the ground unconscious.

* * *

On Earth…

* * *

"Something's wrong" Charles Xavier mused to himself. "I don't' know how or why, but…something feels wrong" 

He wheeled away from his telescope near the window. "Can you feel it?" he asked his cat in a whisper. "Do you know what's happening?"

When he got no response from the orange tabby, he sighed. He'd gotten the vaguest hit of a telepathic cry for help earlier in the day but he couldn't trace it. And with his trusty Cerebro down, it would be awhile before he'd be able to fix it on his own. Probably a few weeks.

Charles took a deep breath and resumed his book on astronomy while he took his break. He promised to keep working on Cerebro as soon as he finished his chapter. Charles Xavier never trusted his nagging doubts…

* * *

Back in deep space, our young hero discovers that friends are found in the oddest places. 

Namely prison ships…

* * *

Scott stared at the dirty floor of his cell with has arms crossed on top of his knees and his head upon them. He was trying his hardest not to think. When that proved unsuccessful and the events of the last hours began replaying in his mind, he refocused his concentration on not crying. 

"Sonny?" a voice asked from the cell to his right. "Sonny, are you all right?" Scott didn't honestly care who it was or even if it was friend or foe.

"I hate him!" Scott said simply as the tears threatened to come out again.

"Join the club" a lower, rougher, voice said.

Scott looked up slowly and his hand immediately darted to the back of his head when his vision slightly blurred and he knew that he might pass out again. His head still throbbed from the blow from the officer.

"Who said that?" he asked.

"I did" Scott watched as what looked like a fatter version of the Monster from the Black Lagoon appeared out of the shadows. "My name's Ch'od. I'm part of the rebellion against D'Ken"

"D'Ken" Scott repeated as he mentally taught himself to hate the name. "My name's Scott" he said as he felt he could release the lump on the back of his head. His hand ran down to the back of his neck where he felt a clasp. His mother's necklace! He's almost forgotten. Looking at it good for the first time, he saw the image of the loving saint and thought of his mother. Instantly, his anger was replaced by grief and he bent his head over again and let out a sob.

"There, there" the first voice said, "it is all right"

"No it's not!" Scott shouted as several sobs followed the first.

"Shush, Raza. You're making matters worse. We both know that it's not all right and that it won't be until that insane emperor is off the throne"

"Ay" Raza agreed. "Thou art right, my companion. D'Ken has made the lives of all those under the Shi'ar a living hell. I'm sorry for lying to you, Scott"

Scott sniffled but nodded. "It's OK. It's just, D'Ken killed my mother and my brother. He shot them out of our plane and then abducted me and my dad"

"How terrible" Ch'od whispered in a husky voice. His voice was low but his eyes were burning strong with hate but also with understanding.

"If anyone had done that to Raza's girl, Nico, Raza would not rest until there was blood!" As he made a punching gesture towards the cell bars that connected with Scott's, he caught a glance of the cyborg alien that looked like a pirate.

"Someone should do something about him" Scott murmured.

"Oh, but we're trying" Ch'od explained. "The emperor's sister is in hiding since her exile but a rebellion has formed to put her on the throne. I was originally on the emporer's side until I witnessed his maddness first hand"

"Ay" Raza chimed in, "Raza as well. D'Ken-"

But before Raza could start on his story, a deafening explosion rang out from the metal door down the hall and two figures ran in holding guns. One was a stranger but the other was very familiar.

"Dad!" Scott cried out. Christopher gave him a reassuring smile and shot at his cell's electronic lock with his gun and it sprang open. He helped Scott to his feet while the other character freed Ch'od and Raza.

"Who's that?" Scott asked his Dad as the five of them ran across the hall lined with cells to the opposite door.

"Her name's Hepzibah-something-or-other" his father said. "some guards tried to...hurt her and she fought back. I helped from my side of the cell and we escaped

"First, I could've done it myself"the cat-womansaid with pride, "and secondly, it's not 'Hepzibah'. You say it-"

Another explosion interrupted her as two dozen guards greeted them on the other side of the door. "In the name of the emperor, you are ordered to stand down" one of them said.

"Maybe in the name of **your **emperor" Scott shot back angrily. Christopher glanced at Hephzibah and she nodded, passing two hand guns that she had behind her back to Raza and Ch'od.

"What are you fools waiting for? Shoot them all ready!"

Scott singled out the source of the voice and his eyes narrowed. It was the officer who had hit him, the officer who had killed his mother and brother, the officer who had destroyed his life. Scott felt as if he was seeing red.

Actually, he **was **seeing red. His anger found a way out through his eyes in a destructive red blast that knocked out the officer. Widening his eyes in surprise, Scott noticed that the beam also widened and neatly knocked out all the guards. Only then did Scott realize that that beam was coming from him. He shut his eyes tight and when he reopened them, the beam was gone as was his headache.

"Way to go, Scott!" Ch'od cheered.

"No Slave Pits for us!" Raza courused.

"That's really going to come in handy later" Hepzibah pointed out as they began running again, jumping over the bodies of the fallen guards. Scott figured that they must have not known that humans weren't **supposed** to shoot lasers from their eyes. He looked to his father for answers but Christopher had none.

What was he turning into?

* * *

Back on Earth, life continues as usual. 

Or does it…?

* * *

"Oh, God, my head hurts" 

Jean giggled. "Of course it does, silly. You practically inhaled that slushy"

Annie smiled back at her friend. "Very funny. You should be bouncing off the walls tonight after eating that whole bag of Halloween candy"

Jean did a little jump and they both laughed. "Seriously, though. I'm going to go ask Daddy if I can have an Aspirin"

She skipped off to her dad's study room. Jean reached across the table and took a big sip of Annie's slushy. She strained to hear what was being talked about in the room upstairs. At first she heard nothing at all. Then suddenly, she heard it clearly and loudly as if they were both standing next to her.

"I don't think that Aspirin is the best thing for a girl your age, Annie. I'm only thinking of what's best for you"

"How can you be so mean? What kind of father are you that you let your own daughter suffer in pain!" Jean heard Annie practically shout. Jean's eyes widened. How could Annie be so harsh with her own father?

"Jeez, Annie I'm just looking out for you. Alieve is better"

"Oh, Ok. Dumb Annie…"

'How strange' Jean thought as she heard Annie clomp back down the stairs. "My dad says that I can have an Alieve" she announced.

"I heard. How come you snapped at him so quickly?"

Annie stopped in front of her pantry to stare at Jean. "I didn't snap at him"

"Yes you did" Jean insisted. "You said he was mean because he was going to let you suffer"

Annie didn't move. She just looked at her best friend like she was a complete stranger.

"Jean, I didn't **say** any of that. I just thought it…" she trailed off, too shocked to speak. The friends just stared at each other in amazement for a few minutes. Finally, Jean spoke up. "You don't think…"

"I don't know what to think" Annie said as she reached into the pantry. To both the girls' surprise, the Alieve bottle zoomed to Annie's hand. At the same time, the slushy cup that Jean forgot she was holding moved from her hand and slid across the table to the corner closest to Annie.

Annie dropped the bottle and both girls screamed.

* * *

Weeks go by for us but no time goes by for another little boy. 

A little boy who's about to wake up in a nightmare…

* * *

Alex Summers rubbed his eyes and stared up at the roof of the white hospital room. 

"What-what's going on? Where am I?" His eyes darted around the unfamiliar surroundings in fear. "HELLO?" he called out in terror.

A nurse came rushing into the room. "Doctor, he's awake!" she called back out into the hallway. She quickly approached Alex's bed. "It's OK, baby. The doctor's coming now"

"Who are you? Where are my mommy and daddy? Where's Scott? I had the worst nightmare and I…"

"Alex Summers, right?" the doctor asked jogging into the hospital room.

"What's happening? I want my mommy!" he cried.

"Alex" the doctor said quietly, "I'm…why don't you get some rest? You've been sleeping for a very long time. Do you want something to eat?"

"Where's my mommy?" he cried.

"You'll see her soon. I promise" The doctor turned around and left Alex with the nurse as she tried to calm him. Suddenly, a bright light filled the room and the doctor spun around to see its cause. His eyes opened wide with horror as he saw that the bright light was coming from the little boy's hands. The boy put his hands in front of his face to ward off the nurse and a beam shot out of them, knocking the woman out. Alex screamed and another blast shot out of his hands, blowing out the roof.

The doctor ran back into the room holding a needle. He had been warned about the child before he was sent here so he had slightly prepared himself, though he had no idea what he'd be facing. He dove to the side of the boy's bed and injected his arm. Alex fell unconscious and the glow and blasts from his hands disappeared. The entire hospital staff stood outside the door, staring in awe.

Another nurse came in shakily and helped the doctor up. "Doctor…"

"What the hell is going on?" he murmured as the nurse ushered him out of the room and into his office. "Would you like some coffee?" she asked but the doctor wasn't paying attention to her.

"First those two girls with telepathy and telekinesis that were sent here all the way from Annandale-on-Hudson…"

"This **is** one of the nation's best hospitals and you **are** one of the, if not **the,** nation's most highly qualified…"

But Doctor McCoy wasn't listening to her. "…and now this boy from Alaska that can shoot lasers from his hands. What's happening to the human species?"

"Perhaps I could shed some light on the situation"

The nurse and the doctor turned to the door were a bald man had just entered in a wheelchair.

"Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Charles Xavier…"

* * *

And so it begins.

* * *

First off, X-Men aren't mine. Secondly, you might have noted that some things are different from the comics. I would just like to point out that I do know the story of the Starjammers and that all of it has been altered because of the switch in D'Ken's hostages. See you in chapter two when you get to meet the new team of X-Men.


	2. New World, New Universe

And so, eleven years after the events previously described, our attention returns to deep space, aboard an alien space craft and into the mind of its captain…

* * *

Scott moaned as felt her hands run over his body. She was touching him so gently, yet so firmly that it was driving him mad. Even in the pitch darkness he managed to find her mouth and kissed her with all the ferocity he could. She kissed him back eagerly and desperately as her hands traced his numerous scars. She tenderly touched them because she knew they still hurt him despite their age. He ran his fingers through her hair and touched her as well, knowing that she hid nothing from him.

Her hands, however, always stopped in the same place. As they danced across his back, they halted at his largest scar. Carved into his very back was this symbol, this death mark, this atrocity that separated him. She didn't care, though, because she had her own mark. He felt the difference in skin texture now as his hand roamed the flesh above her right breast. He felt it and knew what it was. What he didn't know was what it meant.

Suddenly, a door opened wide in the darkness, flooding the room with a blinding white light. He didn't need to actually see the figure standing there: his silhouette was terrifying enough.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked in a deep demonic voice. Then he laughed, a terrible, blood curling laugh that scared him more than anything in his life…

And then he woke up.

Scott Summers took a deep breath as he re-assessed his surroundings. He was in a king sized bed, in a room, and completely alone. He yawned and checked his watch to see that he's been asleep for only five Earth hours. He sighed. Scott knew he needed eight full hours if he was to be alert for his next mission.

Before stepping out of bed, he shyly checked his pants and blushed. "I hate my life" he groaned, flopping back down onto his bed.

"You shouldn't say what you don't mean" came a voice from the door. Scott sat back up as a tall woman with blond hair walked in. She was wearing a robe with and intricately designed 'E' on the shoulder and was carrying a tray with coffee.

"Thanks" he grumbled, taking the coffee.

"Scott, have you checked the time?" she asked him.

"I know, I know. I need three more hours" he mumbled putting the coffee back on the tray.

She looked at him funny. "No you don't. Look"

The woman reached behind her and pulled out a coo-coo clock. Scott squinted and leaned foreword to see what time it was but the woman swung it and smacked him across the face with it.

Scott woke up _for real_ this time. He shot up with a yelp and then let out a curse as he slammed his forehead against the landing gears of the _Star-Treader_. He eased back down into the pilot's seat rubbing his forehead, cursing under his breath.

"That's gotta hurt" he heard a voice say from behind him. Scott turned his seat around to face his visitor. The golden cat humanoid was smiling at him teasingly.

"Actually, it doesn't hurt at all" he responded sarcastically and upset. The girl laughed and came up to sit beside him in the co-pilot's seat. She moved her long bushy tail to a side so that she wouldn't sit on it.

"I hope you got your sleep" she said, "Because I was the one who ended up feeding Austin. He wasn't too happy about it I might add" she said still with that cat grin of hers.

Scott checked his watch as he switched out of autopilot and back to manual. He'd been asleep for ten straight hours. They hadn't been the most enjoyable, though.

"Yeah, I got my sleep"

They both were silent for a while as they sat in their seats and watched the stars fly past them. Then, Zixa spoke up, carefully and cautiously.

"You know what today is, right?" she asked him with concern. He nodded his head and said in one breath, "The eight year anniversary of Earth's alliance with the Shi'ar Empire."

"Still bugs, huh?"

Scott sighed, frustrated. "How can they not know? How can my people not see D'Ken for what he really is?"

"He's crafty" she said bitterly. Her smile was gone and she had a spark of darkness in her amber eyes. "He gives them all this Shi'ar technology so that it's more like their living in 2005 rather than 1965 and they worship him like a god"

He didn't respond but Zixa knew him well enough to notice his white knuckle grip. Her eyes softened and she came over to him. She sat on the chair's arm and gave him a sideways hug. "It sucks to have to fight your own species" she said as she stroked his hair.

"No, what really sucks is to be one of the last of your species" he said looking up at her. "I really shouldn't complain"

Zixa looked away from his hazel eyes. Scott felt bad and gave her a small reassuring hug. She changed the subject.

"Are you sure about this thing at Exdonz? I mean, with half of the Starjammers M.I.A., wouldn't it be safer if we attacked at another time?"

After saying this she met his brown eyes again with her yellow ones. She saw the determination in them practically sizzle as he spoke the next words.

"We can't give up this chance. You know we can't"

"But can we do it? With only half a team and one ship instead of two?" she asked worriedly.

For the first time that evening, Scott allowed a smile to tug at the corners of his lips. "What? Don't you trust me?"

Zixa laughed as her confidence was secured. "Of I course I do. Because you are…" She leapt to her feet and proclaimed dramatically:

"Caspian! Prince of Narnia! Ruler of the land stretching from the lamp post all the way to the—"

"Zixa" he interrupted her speech with an annoyed, yet humored, glance, "For the umpteenth time. I was eight when I chose my codename. Let. It. Die."

Zixa laughed and gave him another squeeze as Scott reached foreword and tapped a blank screen on the ship's dashboard.

"E.V.A.? Come in, girl!" he said.

The screen flickered on and was full of lime green lines. They vibrated and swelled as the ship's computer brain spoke.

-_I'm Here, I'm Here. You Don't Have To Shout-_

"How far to Exdonz?" he asked her.

-_Twenty Minutes If We Remain At This Speed, Caspian-_

"Good. You can download back into your body and meet us in the kitchen."

-_Well, I Was Going To Pry Pill'oc And Nico Off Each Other But Downloading Seems Much Safer-_ she responded. Scott groaned.

"What are they fighting about now?" Zixa asked.

-_Don't Ask Me. I'm Downloading-_ she responded snootily as the screen went blank again. Scott sighed and got up. Zixa quickly slipped into his seat and took over the controls.

"Don't be long" she stated, flipping a switch on the dashboard that opened the door to the pilot's compartment.

Scott made his way through the door and down the Star-Treader's labyrinth of hallways with ease until he reached Nico's room. He could hear the shouting from halfway down the hallway.

"How many times have I told you, you big Frigjal! You do not touch my 93K8!"

"How many times have **I **told **you** that it's mine to begin with!"

Caspian pressed his finger against the pad on the side of the door to the room. It beeped and opened swiftly to reveal a rather petite looking female cyborg shouting at a large green lizard-like alien.

Caspian stood at the door for a minute watching the two fighting, both unaware of his presence. He let out a loud cough and they both stopped and stood in attention for their captain.

"All right, how did this one start?" he asked wearily.

* * *

A certain Institute for certain Gifted youngsters...

* * *

"Checkmate!"

Annie groaned as Jean triumphantly moved her bishop into position. "Ha! I win again!"

"Rematch!" Annie declared with an evil grin as she began putting the pieces back into place with her telekinesis. Jean laughed at her.

"Annie, you sore loser, we've been playing that last game for two hours! It's already eight in the morning!"

Annie's eyes widened and she checked her watch. She sighed and levitated the chess board back to its shelf. "I hate you" she muttered playfully as she started getting her clothes out of her drawer. Jean got up from her bed as well and stretched.

"I'm sorry, Annie. Would you rather I have nightmares at two in the afternoon?" Jean said sarcastically but still smiling. Annie rolled her eyes as she pulled out and tossed Jean her slacks.

"I honestly rather you not have them at all. Then I wouldn't have to get up and entertain you at the most unholy hours of the night **and** day"

Jean laughed again as she caught her slacks and tossed Annie her tank top. The two worked in such perfect unison, that any outsider would have immediately taken them for sisters.

However, Annie's mood changed to the more somber. "So, was it the same nightmare?"

"Best sex of my life followed by creepy guy tearing bedroom door off hinges? Yeah" Jean said.

The two were silent for a moment.

"We're going to be so whacked out at the ceremony tonight" Annie commented finally as she attempted to be cheery again. Two pairs of sneakers, one red and the other black, floated out of the closet and landed in front of each girl.

Then Annie glanced at Jean and smiled devilishly. Jean's thoughts of her nightmare instantly vanished as she recognized her friend's grin. Then, as if prompted by a gunshot, both girls took off running to the suite's only bathroom. Annie got there first and slammed the door shut. Any outsider would have **definitely** taken them for sisters.

"C'mon, Annie! You got dibs last time!" Jean complained from the outside.

"You're the one who made the rules!" she exclaimed from inside as she began washing her face and brushing her teeth.

I despise you she sent through their psychic rapport as she grabbed her clothes, hand towel, and toothbrush.

You love me and you know it! she sent back playfully. Jean rolled her eyes and opened the door to find her boyfriend already there and poised as if about to knock.

"Annie got dibs again, huh?" he asked playfully as Jean closed the door behind her.

"She got dibs last time!" she whined childishly. Her boyfriend laughed and kissed her on the mouth.

"There, there" he said leaning her head against his shoulder. "I could always blast down the door" he suggested jokingly as he pointed one of his topaz gauntleted hands at her bedroom door.

"Nah, she'll just hang you from the chandelier like she did the last time you broke into our room" Jean said as she began walking towards the girl's bathroom down the hall.

"You can use my bathroom" he said as he turned her around and nudged her in the direction of his room the opposite way.

"Thank you, Alex"

"Nervous about the big ceremony today?" he asked her.

"Not really. We were going to have to travel into deep space sooner or later. We can handle it" she stated calmly.

"You sure you won't need me beside you?" he asked playfully, "You know, to rescue you if those pesky rebels show up again?"

"I'll just end up saving your butt again" she laughed as they arrived at Alex's bedroom. She gave him a peck on his smiling lips.

"See you downstairs in five" she said with a giggle.

"Hours?" he joked. She gently slapped his arm with a laugh and went into his bathroom.

* * *

Returning to deep space…

* * *

Aboard the Emperor D'Ken's Imperial Cruiser, a teenage girl sat in the middle of an enormous room. The decorated fuchsia walls rose up to a huge domed glass roof where the stars went slowly past. The young brunette wasn't paying attention to the stars, however, and was deep in meditation. Her body was slack and her eyes were closed with a peace that was hardly achieved in the world she lived in. It had taken her eight Earth hours but she had finally achieved the state of mind she needed. Ever so slowly, her blue-green eyes opened and she let out a small sigh. Then she spoke to her only other companion: the ball of light purple fire dancing in her hand.

"What do you need me to see?" was her whispered question.

The ball of fire, which she herself had created with her abilities, became motionless in her hand in response to her question. Then it began to flicker again, this time, forming shapes and designs. She could tell out two beings and a ship. The two individuals looked human, like her, but she knew full well that appearances could be deceiving. She blew on it and the images returned to the fire's regular flicker.

"What else?" she asked.

It stilled and danced once again, this time revealing an image of feather headed being.

"D'ken?" she wondered aloud.

The image vanished suddenly and quickly. Not like the image before that flickered out but almost as if he had been taken out.

"There's an interesting concept" the girl smirked, her voice still low. Realizing that she was reverting to her normal self again, she took a few minutes to regain her concentration. She opened her eyes one more time and stared at the dancing fire before her, waiting for its next image. It didn't come.

"There's something else, isn't there?" she addressed it; her voice was filled with curiosity because she could feel it in her bones that there was something else it wanted her to see. The fire stilled but it didn't start again. If it were a living thing, she would actually believe it to be scared.

"What is it?"

All at once, the small ball of fire erupted into a huge image that nearly engulfed her. She could clearly make out a head and wings and as it reared, it let out a screech.

Out of fear and astonishment, she quickly closed her fist. The image vanished as soon as her fist fully closed. It took her a moment to regain her bearings. She checked her clothes for any singes, momentarily forgetting that the fire she was using was psychic. She let out a sigh and got to her feet.

"I-I'm done!" she called to the door, having noticed a shadow from underneath it. A green skinned and blue haired female alien came rushing.

"Ms. Lensherr, I am so terribly sorry. I knew that you didn't want anyone to interrupt you or anything but it's very important so I stood outside of your door until—"

The pyrokinetic raised her hand to stop the woman's rambling.

"Please, Ahoptet, call me Anya. And it's really all right, I just finished" she explained warmly.

"Of course Ms. Anya. Your brother's on the video phone and he wants to speak with you. It's of the greatest importance, he says"

"Thank you, Ahoptet" she responded. When she was leaving, she added under her breath, "Knowing Pietro, he probably just got a haircut"

She slipped out of her meditation robe and into her combat uniform, just because it was less swishy, and sat down in front of the large video screen. "Line 4" she addressed the computer. The screen flickered to life and she could see her brother.

"Good grief, Anya, it took you long enough" he complained.

"What is it, Pie-pie?" she asked with sibling annoyance.

"Well, it's of use **now**" he stated, obviously upset, "If you had picked up the video phone thirty minutes ago—" Suddenly, Pietro, who had obviously been sitting on a swiveling chair was pushed out of view of the camera. Anya couldn't help but giggle at the scream and crash that followed. Suddenly, her second oldest sister filled the screen.

"Thanks, Lorna" Anya laughed, flipping a few controls to improve the image. Lorna pulled up another chair with her magnetism powers and sat down in front of the screen with a smile.

"How, it going Firewalker? Dad pampering his littlest girl enough?"

Anya rolled her eyes. "No, not so much. He made me spar with Famew for three hours yesterday"

"Ah," Lorna sighed, reminiscing, "what I'd give for the good old days"

"C'mon, Polaris," Anya laughed, "S.H.I.E.L.D. can't be as bad as you make it out to be"

"It's worse than the X-Men for sure" she said, head in hand. Then she added with the tiniest hints of a smile, "Not to hear Wanda tell it…"

"Wanda loves the X-Men and she knows we know it. Now, what was the important news?"

Polaris pressed a few buttons on her own control, and a couple of holographic images appeared on Anya's screen. One had a lot of numbers in binary, the other had her personal information, another looked like a passport, and the fourth was the schematics for a ship.

"This is your boarding information and the flight you'll be on to Exdonz for the ceremony" Polaris said, looking down at her controls, pulling up another screen with Erik's information. "This is dad's. I need you to download both of them onto your…"

Lorna stopped when she noticed that Anya wasn't listening to what she had just said and was looking curiously at the schematics of the ship. Lorna had seen that expression before.

"You've seen this ship in one of your visions?" she asked, not attempting to hide her curiosity. Her sister's pyro-precognitive abilities had always fascinated her.

"Just now" she confided with her favorite sibling. A few control button pushes later, the holographic image of the ship's exterior, interior, and even the different engines appeared before her blown up to a larger scale. "A 3XK-9er" she read from one of the screens, "A _Bennu_"

"So?" Polaris asked, having enlarged the same screen on her own computer. "What about it? Half the ships of D'Ken's fleet are of the _Bennu _class"

Anya'a eyes betrayed her voice when she spoke, "It's probably nothing, Lorna. Thanks for the flight information. I'll pass it along to dad and let you know if I find anything with the ship"

Polaris gave Firewalker an implying look. "I will" Anya confirmed. Lorna held her hands up in surrender, "You know, you can just tell me if you don't want me to know…"

"I do want you to know" she smiled. "I'll call"

"All right, I'm going to go check up on Pie-pie" she laughed pressing the off button on her panel. "Polaris out"

"Firewalker, over and out" Anya announced shutting off her own communication. She spun around on her chair to go get her holo-projector to download the info when she found herself face to face with her father.

"If you still want, we can change that codename" he said, smiling with a fatherly amusement. She laughed and got up and came to hug her dad. He was dressed with a cape covering his combat clothes as was expected when the Head of the Imperial Guard was off-duty. His short white beard tickled the top of her head as she hugged him tight.

"I haven't changed it for eight years; I don't plan on changing it now"

"That's right now, huh?" he asked, pretending to try to remember, "You just turned fifteen now so then…"

"Da-ad" she chided softly, "you know I just turned seventeen last Earth month"

"Of course, of course" he chuckled, "D'ken's mystics brought you back at age two, right?"

She couldn't help but smile even though she didn't like talking about the subject of her resurrection. If she had lived, she would've been going into her thirties now instead of just turning seventeen. Sensing his daughter's discomfort of the situation, Erik changed the subject. "You want to get a bite to eat before we board for Exdonz?"

She giggled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be done soon" she said giving him a small push in the direction of her door. He left without another word but still smiling as he shut the door.

* * *

At an undisclosed location on Earth…

* * *

Bishop rolled over to the other side of his desk to pick up his private line. "Talk to me, Eric"

"Hello, Bishop. How are you and the Mrs.?" Eric said calmly, feigning interest.

"You don't call to ask how I'm doing" he growled. He hadn't been on the best in the best of moods since a failed mission a few days ago. "What's going down?"

"I need a favor, Lucas. A favor that only you as the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. can grant me" His voice was cool and had an icy firmness to it. "I'm going to need your S.H.A.R.D. team at the ceremony at Exdonz this evening"

"What?" Bishop hissed. He turned towards the couch on the other side of the room where his wife was taking a nap to see if he had disturbed her at all. "The President has already asked for my S.H.I.E.L.D. team for protection as well as both teams of Xavier's X-Men. Why—"

"Lucas, I have reason to believe the rebellion is going to have a special interest in this ceremony" Eric clarified, "D'ken thinks so too"

Bishop pinched his eyelids in frustration. "All right," he sighed finally, "I'll send in my S.H.A.R.D. team for the sake of D'ken's paranoia. Happy?"

"Quite" The line clicked and Bishop put the phone back in the receiver. He got up and crossed the room to gently shake his wife. "Tessa? You're going to have to cut your nap short. We're going out"

She stirred, annoyed. "Now?" she asked.

He nodded. "Could you call the team?" he asked her as he went to change into his uniform. "All right" she groaned. She searched the floor next to the couch, looking for her electronic sunglasses. She found them under the couch and placed them on the bridge of her nose after pushing a button on the side. She watched as all the networks of the immediate universe appeared before her eyes and she plugged her electronic brain into them all. She found her private line and sent her message. "Sage to S.H.A.R.D. team, do you copy?"

"Ve copy" came a voice with a thick German accent.

"Report to the hanger immediately," she ordered, "we're going on a field trip"

"Ready when you are, Sage" came another voice, this one with an Irish accent.

"Perfect. Sage over and out" She took the glasses off and went to get in uniform herself.

"Why do they insist on being so last minute?" she complained, zipping up her spandex. Bishop shrugged his shoulders and held the door open for her so they could leave. They made their way to the hangar and saw the team waiting for them.

"Sound off" Bishop ordered, adjusting his glove.

"Nightcrawler"

"Wolfsbane"

"Sunfire"

"Polaris"

The fifth member grumbled something and Polaris hit his shoulder. Hard.

"Quicksilver" he sounded off louder, rubbing his shoulder and glaring at his sister.

"Al right" Sage said, nodding in approval, "Let's go"

* * *

Aboard the Star-Treader…

* * *

The Starjammers stood in their weapons room, gearing up for the ceremony.

As Scott finished strapping a dagger to the inside of his army boot, his mind couldn't help but go to his father who had taught him the trick. They had started the Starjammers with the three aliens that had helped them escape from the prison ship eleven years ago. In the time that they had been in business, they had made a name for themselves as a feared pirate/rebel group with the Shi'ar and Princess Lilandra's best fighting force for the rebellion.

Scott looked over at his teammates who were suiting up. Nico, Raza's thought-to-be-dead daughter, had been found alive in a prison camp. To save her life, a allying species had fused her body with state-of-the-art robotics making her a cyborg, like they had done to her father. Additionally, they had trained her in at least sixteen interplanetary martial arts making her a formidable warrior. Scott watched her cock the gun she had been fighting with Pill'oc over earlier and thought with amusement that she probably wouldn't even touch it in battle.

_Speaking of the Loch Ness Monster_, Scott thought as his gaze shifted over to his best friend. Pill'oc was Ch'od nephew, but he was just as strong and powerful as his uncle. He had been the second kid to be added and he and Scott had grown extremely close over the time they had known each other. They had a strong, brotherly bond that had probably developed subconsciously to try and replace the bond Scott had with his own lost brother. The two of them had been inseparable until Zixa had come along…

"-_Caspian, We're Here_-" E.V.A. said as she finished putting on her civilian clothes. Even though she was downloaded into her slick, malleable metal body, she still had part of her mind in the ship. Her elongated head as well as her shoulders held several green orbs.

"Thanks, Ev" Caspian said as he finished strapping on his boots. They had found E.V.A. when they "acquired" the _Star-Treader_. It had been called _The Fantomex_ and E.V.A. was its original computer brain. The captain who went by the same name, had been diagnosed with a terminal Frigjal virus and was going to be put in a top secret military complex for first of its kind treatment which included deep freezing. As it turned out, D'Ken had ordered him infected with the virus when he discovered that he had been tipping the rebellion off. E.V.A. had at first refused to believe that D'Ken would have done something like that when the Starjammers told her. After searching her files, however, and finding Fantomex's last will and testament, leaving his ship and his 'beloved' E.V.A. to whoever was leading the rebellion at the time of his death, she joined the ranks of the Starjammers.

Caspian double checked everything on him, from his hidden guns to his grenades, to his communicator and watch. Then he put two fingers in his mouth and whistled for Austin. Like a shooting star, Austin flew from his perch nearby and landed gracefully on Caspian's arm. Austin looked like a bird, was about the size of a bird, but he wasn't a bird. The rough English translation of his species was 'Star-Treader' henceforth the name of the ship. What set Star-Treaders apart from all other birds was their lightning white feathers, their ability to survive in extreme solar temperatures and their ability to breathe in the vacuum of space.

"Oh, but he lets you touch him" Nico muttered under her breath as Austin climbed up to Caspian's shoulder. He chose to ignore her comment and he pushed a button on a nearby wall.

"All right, boys and girls" he smirked as the hatch opened to the burning light of Exdonz's double suns.

"Here we go"

* * *

Earth...

* * *

Jean strapped herself into the pilot's seat of the Blackbird and adjusted the seat to her convenience. As she flipped some controls, she felt Annie slip into the co-pilot's seat next to her and strapped herself in as well. Both of them were out of uniform and were wearing casual clothes.

"You sure you don't want Chaos' team coming with us?" Annie asked as she flipped some more controls on the dashboard.

"Alex and his team need to be in uniform if we're going to be civilians" Jean pointed out. "The rebellion will be suspicious if there are no X-Men there at all"

She gave Annie a devilish grin and continued with, "Besides, **_one_** of us has to remain focused"

Another figure entered the jet at that moment and spoke in favor of Annie. "It is not Marvel Girl's fault that she was assigned someone so captivatingly handsome on her team"

"Thank you, baby" Annie smiled as her boyfriend leaned down to kiss her. Also wearing civilians clothes, he was dressed mostly in leather. Jean rolled her eyes, now adjusting her seat.

"Very funny, Gambit. You know you're only here because you feed us"

"Mademoiselle Mindbender!" he said, pretending to be shocked. "Gambit is a very valuable member to his team! Am I right, Rogue?" he asked the girl just as she entered the jet.

"God help you if you didn't have your gumbo" she commented, not meeting any of their eyes and taking her seat in the jet. Gambit harrumphed and made as if to leave the jet but Annie grabbed him with her TK.

"Sit your ass down, thief" she said smiling as he took the seat behind her with another kiss.

"Where's the overgrown canary?" Jean asked Rouge who had just plugged herself into her music.

"Warren's going with Alex's team. Says he's too recognizable to go incognito"

"Will do" Annie's TK closed the door while Jean's final flick sent the jet's engines roaring to life.

"Hang onto your panties" Jean said with a rakish grin.

"Here we go"

* * *

Questions, questions, questions…What's at Exdonz? What's the deal with the new Starjammers? Where's Lilandra? How is Anya alive? **Why did it take strayphoenix a whole frickin' year to update??? **This and more in chapter three if you're still willing to read! Need at least five more positive reviews :) 


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